Anheuser-Busch Unveils More Aluminum Style Packaging

Anheuser-Busch Unveils More Aluminum Style Packaging

ST. LOUIS – In an effort to rein in more profits of its new aluminum packaging, Anheuser-Busch has extended their aluminum bottle products to include two Michelob beers: ULTRA and ULTRA Amber.

The 16 ounce bottles, now available, feature high-gloss graphics on a silver base color. The brands' logos blue and dark amber, respectively, appear in the center of the bottle. The bottles are available in four, 15 and 24 packs, supported with a line of price reminding point-of-sale materials.

"The package speaks for itself, it jumps off the shelf by itself," Dan Hoffmann, vice president of brand creative services for Anheuser-Busch told CSNews Online. Retailers like to display the brands because it is eye-catching, he added.

According to Anheuser-Busch, aluminum bottles are the latest and greatest thing in beer. The aluminum bottle trend started in Europe, and in 2005, Anheuser-Busch took notice and brought the package to the American market in bars and restaurants, said Hoffmann.

Because the packaging was never seen in the U.S., consumers took notice. The response was "very positive and enthusiastic," Hoffmann told CSNews Online.

The response was so positive that retailers were selling out, which lead Anheuser-Busch to double its capacity for the packaging, Hoffmann said. In 2006, its first quarter sales increased 602 percent over last year's period, and this trend to increase throughout the summer months.

"People see someone in the bar holding the bottle and say 'What is that, I have to have that,'" said Hoffmann. Once they get their hands on the bottle, consumers notice the cold feeling the aluminum bottles give off and the cold taste. Anheuser-Busch has "the cold thing down cold," said Hoffmann.

According to Hoffmann, Anheuser-Busch will release special edition aluminum bottles to keep sales high. Dale Earnhardt bottles will be released in July, Sturgis Motorcross will be released in August, and Halloween will feature a UV-light-sensitive, glowing orange Bud Lite bottle.